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Brad Ack
Executive Director and Chief Innovation Officer at Ocean Visions
Professional Background
Brad Ack is a highly accomplished executive with over 30 years of dedicated experience in conservation and sustainability initiatives. His career is marked by a deep commitment to fostering a more sustainable and biologically diverse world. As a designer and implementer of innovative conservation strategies, Brad has significantly impacted environmental policies and practices across various organizations and communities.
In his current role as Executive Director and Chief Innovation Officer at Ocean Visions, Brad leads transformative projects geared toward addressing critical issues facing our oceans. His ability to build and lead effective organizations, along with his talent for communicating complex ideas clearly and persuasively, has made him a central figure in the environmental conservation sector. Brad has a unique knack for uniting diverse groups and interests, facilitating collaborative efforts that bring about meaningful change.
Prior to his role at Ocean Visions, Brad served as Senior Advisor at Blue Oceans Partners, where he contributed to innovative ocean-related initiatives. His visionary approach led him to found the Ocean-Climate Trust/Ocean Climate Alliance, further showcasing his entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to tackling climate change issues relevant to ocean ecosystems. Moreover, as a former Senior Vice President at the World Wildlife Fund, he helped shape conservation strategies on a global scale, influencing policies and practices to benefit marine and terrestrial environments.
Brad's extensive background includes key positions at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, where he served as Policy Director for the Office of the Commissioner of Public Lands. His leadership was pivotal in overseeing various land management and conservation programs, reflecting his thorough understanding of both environmental and policy challenges. His experience at the Marine Stewardship Council, both as Director of External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives and as Regional Director for the Americas, underscores his expertise in promoting sustainable seafood practices across different cultures and markets.
Through his work at the Puget Sound Action Team, Grand Canyon Trust, and various other organizations, Brad has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to conservation and community engagement. His accolades as a Senior Program Officer at World Wildlife Fund and Project Manager at Catholic Relief Services further illustrate his capability to execute large-scale projects that positively impact diverse populations.
Education and Achievements
Brad Ack boasts an impressive academic background, having earned a Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) with a perfect GPA of 4.0 from Georgetown University. This rigorous academic training has equipped him with critical skills in international relations, diplomacy, and strategic thinking. In addition, Brad graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Political Science from Macalester College. This educational foundation has played a crucial role in shaping his understanding of global issues and informing his approach to conservation work.
Throughout his career, Brad has received recognition for his contributions to sustainability and conservation, reflecting his remarkable ability to engage various stakeholders and lead impactful initiatives. His work is characterized by a blend of scientific rigor and practical implementation, making him a sought-after communicator and leader in the environmental sector.
With experiences spanning multiple continents, cultures, and environmental issues, Brad possesses a breadth of perspective that enhances his effectiveness as a conservation leader. His dedication to empowering communities and advocating for sustainable practices positions him as a role model for future generations in the environmental field.
Achievements
Brad Ack's distinguished career is filled with noteworthy achievements and contributions to the field of conservation and sustainability. As a leader in organizations like Ocean Visions and World Wildlife Fund, he has spearheaded numerous projects that have advanced marine conservation and the sustainable use of ocean resources. His founding work with the Ocean-Climate Trust/Ocean Climate Alliance illustrates his ability to innovate and mobilize resources to address pressing environmental challenges.
Through his advocacy and strategic leadership roles, Brad has successfully engaged diverse stakeholders from governments, non-profits, and the private sector, fostering collaborative solutions to complex problems. His work has not only advanced policy discussions at local and national levels but has also influenced international dialogues on marine conservation.
Brad's articulate and persuasive communication skills have made him a respected spokesperson in forums discussing environmental policy, sustainability, and conservation initiatives. His commitment to persistent, meaningful dialogue reflects his belief in the power of cooperation to achieve sustainability goals.
In summary, Brad Ack’s extensive experience and passion for the environment have made him a pivotal figure in the conservation landscape. His impressive track record of leadership, innovation, and positive impact underscores his critical role in promoting a sustainable future, making him a valuable asset to any organization committed to enhancing biodiversity and ecological health.
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Clay is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Clay centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.
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